Warsaw/The Belarusian authorities announced this Tuesday the release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut, winner of the Sakharov Prize last year and who had been serving eight years in prison.
According to the official BELTA agency, the Belarusian KGB freed the journalist and four other people – all convicted of espionage – in an exchange with Poland, which in turn handed over five individuals convicted in different countries of the European Union.
Poczobut, an essayist, journalist, poet and musician belonging to the Polish minority in Belarus, and known for being a harsh critic of the Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko, was received after crossing the border by the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.
Belarusian by birth and of Polish descent, in 2005 he headed the Council of the Union of Poles in Belarus, which was not recognized by the Belarusian authorities, who appointed new leaders of the organization of the Polish minority, the second largest in Belarus after the Russian one.
The European Parliament, which granted Sakharov freedom of conscience, had requested his immediate and unconditional release, although the journalist’s mother’s request to Lukashenko was decisive, according to the source.
According to independent media, for many months there were fears for the life of Poczobut, who looked very emaciated when he was released today after serving behind bars since March 2021.
Among those exchanged by the Polish side is the Russian archaeologist Alexandr Butiaguin, whom Warsaw wanted to extradite to Ukraine, where he is accused of damaging the heritage of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The 5 for 5 exchange took place on the Polish-Belarusian border, near the Bialowieza forest, and was the result, according to BELTA, of a long negotiation process between the secret services of both countries by direct order of Lukashenko.
Among those exchanged by the Polish side is the Russian archaeologist Alexandr Butiagin, whom Warsaw wanted to extradite to Ukraine, where he is accused of damaging the heritage of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The FSB also reported in a statement on the release of the wife of a Russian soldier serving in the separatist Moldovan republic of Transnistria.
The Belarusian KGB, which thanked the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) for its collaboration, specified that as the process progressed, the intelligence services of a total of seven countries joined in.
BELTA highlights that those released include several Belarusians who “were carrying out especially important missions to guarantee the country’s national security and defensive capacity,” a euphemism for spies.
According to the press, the White House emissary for Belarus, John Cole, who managed to get Lukashenko to release dozens of political prisoners in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, held intense consultations with local authorities in Poland these days.
